Nationally bestselling author Kathleen Bridge presents a delightful new series set on a barrier island where waves meet sand-and mayhem meets murder . . . The Indialantic by the Sea Hotel has a hundred-year-old history on beautiful Melbourne Beach, Florida, and more than a few guests seem to have been there from the start. When Liz Holt returns home after an intense decade in New York, she's happy to be surrounded by the eccentric clientele and loving relatives that populate her family-run inn, and doubly pleased to see the business is staying afloat thanks to its vibrant shopping emporium and a few very wealthy patrons. But that patronage decreases by one when a filthy rich guest is discovered dead in her oceanfront suite. Maybe this is simply a jewel theft gone wrong, but maybe someone-or many people-wanted the hotel's prosperous guest dead. Only one thing is sure: there's a killer at the Indialantic, and if Liz lets herself be distracted-by her troubled past or the tempting man who seems eager to dredge it back up-the next reservation she'll book could be at the cemetery . . .

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Product description

About the Author

Kathleen Bridge started her writing career working at the State News, the student newspaper of Michigan State University. She is an antiques dealer on Long Island and the author and photographer of an antique reference guide, Lithographed Paper Toys, Books, and Games.

Lauren Ezzo is a Chicago-based audiobook narrator and commercial voice talent. A Michigan native and Hope College alumna, she has recorded over 100 titles and garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards for her narrations.

Customer reviews

Amazon calculates a product’s star ratings using a machine learned model instead of a raw data average. The machine learned model takes into account factors including: the age of a review, helpfulness votes by customers and whether the reviews are from verified purchases.

Top international reviews

I read this in one sitting on a quiet Saturday. I wish I could have rated it 3.5 stars. I would have given 4 stars but it lacked main character development.

There seemed to be an over-abundance of scenery detail, but a lack of character detail.

For example: The hotel they live in along the coast is described in such great detail, that if it were possible to show you five imaginary hotels, you could pick out which was in the book.

But when it came to the characters, there was a severe lack of details. A big part of Liz’s character is about the scar on her cheek. You know her old boyfriend Travis did it, but you don’t know how or why. It’s like the author wants you to guess. (This is not a spoiler by the way. It was talked about early in the story.)

There is a scene near the end of the book, not related to the main story, where Liz and Ryan go undercover for one of her dad’s legal cases. You don’t know why, how, etc. Once again, it is like the author wants you to guess.

I wish the two were switched. I wanted to know more about the characters than I did about the buildings.

Other than that, I liked the book. Great mystery, and some fun characters. Yes, I would continue reading this series. Just please, Ms. Bridge, give us more character details!!

The only reason I finished this book was to see who ended up to be the murderer. I hoped that the main character and amateur derective, Liz, would be the first one to be knocked off, which didn't happen. She was rude, self-absorbed, and narcissistic. There was no reason for her to investigate the case, as the police were already investigating.Thumbs down on this one.

I love cozy mysteries and was excited to see one set in my own backyard. But this one was a near snooze for me. The constant cheesy one liners about the 60's era TV shows that the main character's ex-actress aunt appeared in got to be a total bore after the ninth or tenth mention. And the aunt's "connection" to several celebrities and famous happenings made me wonder if this was the female version of Forrest Gump. Not to mention that the "death by the sea" did not happen until nearly 100 pages into the story. But the clinker for me was that, since I do live in the area of the setting, some of the author's descriptions of said area are way off. I get trying to include a little local flavor into the story but for goodness sakes, please make it actual local flavor. And I do realize that readers who are not familiar with the area would not know the difference, but it made the story less enjoyable for me. I kept reading because I had paid for the book and didn't want to waste my money and I do admit that the story did get better after the murder took place but it just never really had me hooked.

You can smell the salted breeze, feel the wind blow your hair around. This book was so good. Pierre the chef made your mouth water. Aunt Amelia was a hoot. Liz joined a few others in trying to solve the murder that took place at home. The Indialantic sounds just beautiful with its archways, long hallways, doors that have several exits there is too much to add. The storms made it a cozy. Read this one guys it’s a good one.

If you like murder with a side of sunshine, I'd recommend this book. It contains the murder and suspects to keep the mystery going but also has plenty of lightness and humor. The author is good at explaining what a place looks like, so you can really picture it in your mind. I also like the eccentric characters and the references to the old tv shows ... it made it more cozy somehow. I like that I can puzzle things out while also feeling warm and cozy inside. Definitely recommend.

The eclectic characters in the book we're excellent and I think the series has promise. There was a lot going on in this book, maybe a bit too much it's the story got a little jumbled. That said, it just didn't hold my interest and wasn't one that I want to hurry back and finish. But I'm willing to give the next book a shot.

5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful start to what I hope will be a long running series!

Reviewed in the United States on 13 April 2018

Verified Purchase

A definite winner. Interesting, eccentric characters with a rich backstory that I look forward to learning more as well as see how they develop. The murder had a plethora of possible suspects with a satisfying conclusion.